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Love and respect yourself NOW and live your life and have fun TODAY! Don't "wait until you're thinner." GO..... NOW! "GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!" --Freddie

One year ago today I decided that if I wanted to get to see My Gramma years and meet any Grandchildren I am destined to have that I needed to lose weight or I wasn't going to get to meet them when ever it is they are born. There is so much I want to do with them and I have so much to teach them. I knew I had to make a conscience choice to take control of my weight/ health. So I started out on my weight loss journey. I have lost 46 pounds in a year. I had lap band surgery January 19th and I lost 29 pounds since then. The rest was pre-op. I am confident that this has gone the best way possible. My weight loss has been constant, but gradual. I think it is best to lose gradual. I am happy and looking forward to a great year! Happy Mother's day to all!!!

I'm just frustrated. Seriously. It's so hard to choose the right surgeon. I don't have insurance that will cover VSG and I'm going to do self-pay in Mexico. But the more I investigate the more I get frustrated. I contacted "alighterme"and was contacted by one of their reps and she was so confusing BC she's referring to these people (who would be my driver, etc) and it didn't make sense.... Until I got info from "obesity solutions international" she works for both companies and got her employees mixed up. I guess for her it's a win/win situation. One is $500 higher than the other so if her client doesn't go with one company then they can go with the other. Whatever, it worries me BC if she can't keep her employees straight and which company she's representing straight, how is she going to keep my details straight? I checked out Mexicosurgerysolutions and I'm seriously considering them instead. They aren't as advertised but it seems even more legit. I'd be in a hospital. Not a clinic in a strip mall. I'd recover in a hospital, not a "recovery house" that is over-crowded with no emergency room in case something were to go wrong, and I'd see the surgery team for longer than 5 minutes prior to my surgery. But they are a little more expensive than some of the others. They do use the BajaMed group, but how good are those surgeons? I'm just overwhelmed and needed to vent

well after 2 long years of struggling i am finnaly back on track and the weight is flying off, when i stepped on the scale today i am so happy to say i am 101 pounds down!!!! cant wait 20 more pounds and i will be in onderland!!!!!

What a journey so far, started 01/09/12 with a sleep study and has progressed to today where I am on my 13th day of liquid only diet.To date I have had a sleep study, 1st medical consult, nutrition visit, physical therapy class, blood work, more blood work, psych personality profile (568 questionnaire), psychiatric consult with profile results, weekly personal therapy for food behavior modification and food as an addiction, 1st surgery consult, hematology consult, and an endoscopy 05/10. Tomorrow I have a pre-op class, then Tues. 05/15 my 2nd and hopefully final surgical consult. Surgery is scheduled for Tues. 05/22/12... only 8 days to go! I am supposed to lose 20lbs by the 22nd and so far I am down 10lbs. My only nutrition being fat free milk with protein powder and water. Today was the most challenging, being Mother's Day and the meals that usually involved. Substituted dinner out with Starbucks skinny decaf sugar-free iced late, so still felt like a treat, but not the same. Hope that gets easier. I'm have so many mixed emotions that seem to be on a roller coaster at any given time. I'm so excited, then have doubts, can't wait, then scared, picturing half of me, then worried I will go through this and fail...ect. Thankfully this forum has given me a place to read that other's are or have experienced this same thing, so I don't feel so alone. My family have all expressed their concerns and made sure to tell me I am and will be loved even if I don't' do this and lose weight. My husband has been my biggest champion even though he is nervous about it all. It's nice to know that even if I stayed the same he thinks I'm beautiful and loves me, for me. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful support. I'm also thankful to my forever friend Heather who has shared my weight struggle and beat hers with the sleeve a year and a half ago. What a great example and mentor during this process. When I have doubt's I think of her and know I am making the right choice. Welcome to my sleeve journey!

You are right about what kids say...over the years I've been embarrased more than a few times by school aged kids who have commented on my weight - and one of my children has made some rude comments from time time that were hurtful. I let him know and I don't think he will be so crude anytime soon. Losing weight was MY choice and that is why I underwent WLS and not because of the rude comments of kids. This is my journey and I'm taking ownership.

Good luck Cheryl.

I suggest you read the WLS magazine they started on this site, it is full of information and suggestions for continued success. I know you are new and like a sponge wanting to grab on to all the info you gather. My biggest support I can give you is to go into this procedure with your eyes wide open, think of it as a tool from the beginning and realize this is a life style changing event you have decided to take in your life. This is not a diet and you should never think of it as such. I am 19 months post op and almost at goal weight, I have to date lost 102 lbs and look and feel like a different person. I love my lap band it was just the tool I needed to help me be successful. Some other suggestions I have is go to the main Lapband.com web sites and watch the videos, you need to watch them all, you need to arm your self with as much info on how to eat, how much and what before surgery. I hope you have found a protein that you like because in the early months this is going to be key in your nutrition, you need to understand the talk like, what a slider is, what PB means, what it means to slime. All of this info is on the web sites. I lived on these web sites my first 6 weeks post op, I read everyone;s posts I rarely commented until I was comfortable but I can only say the people on these web sites were my support group they helped me and supported me when I needed it most. Good luck to you and we will be looking forward to supporting you in your journey to a healthy life style.

I had my first consultation with my surgeon, and after that I was told I would have to be on a 6 month supervised diet, per Aetna. I weighed 298 at my highest, I am a female, I am 5’6, and my BMI was 47? I went every month for weigh in's, talked about my food intake, and sometimes had blood tests. I had to go to a nutritional class, a one on one nutritionist appointment, and a psychologist. I didn't lose any weight at all during my 6 month check in sessions. After my last 6 month doctors appointment my paperwork was sent to Aetna. There was a snafoo as to who wasn’t sending over paperwork (my doctor’s office not sending or Aetna not receiving it). However once I stayed on the phone it was easily taken care of and I was approved immediately after my case was reviewed. My experience was a lot better than some of the horror stories that I read and Aetna really wasn’t that bad to work with once the ball started rolling. I had a friend who had the surgery done and she went thru Aetna and she had to do a 3 month, instead of a 6 month, but her requirements were more strict and she had to show more documentation than I. She also had to work one on one with a nutritionist for those 3 months. Im not sure which route your health insurance will take you down but remember the months of waiting are a good thing. It gives you time to change your unhealthy habits to start adapting to a healthier lifestyle. You can, and will do this, if you are meant to. Stay strong and my wishes for best health. <3

Yeah, it is a new concept, chewing our food. But it makes so much difference. I am a year and a half into this and sometimes, I still have to remind myself. Chew, Chew, Chew and than Chew some more. I still get stuck occcassionally, usually do to being in a hurry and not taking time to chew. I really find it difficult to eat at work when stressed and busy and do best if I eat in my office. Something about eating in the cafeteia always get stuck, everyone eats so fast and I eat so slow so having lunch with me means you take your full 30 minutes.